Heating cooker

ABSTRACT

A heating cooker includes a main casing, a heating chamber that is provided in the main casing and that is for heating an object to be heated, a door ( 3 ) that is provided on a front face side of the main casing and that opens and closes an opening of the heating chamber, and a dew receiving container ( 6 ) that is detachably attached onto an under front face side of the main casing. The main casing ( 1 ) has a front plate ( 60 ) that is provided around the opening of the heating chamber ( 2 ), a housing part ( 80 ) that is provided on underside of the front plate ( 60 ) so as to extend along a width of the front plate ( 60 ) in a left-right direction and that is recessed toward a rear face side relative to a lower-side front face of the front plate ( 60 ) so as to house a portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container ( 6 ), and a drop inhibiting part ( 61 ) that is provided on a bottom end of the front plate ( 60 ) and that inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate ( 60 ), from traveling to a side of the housing part ( 80 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a heating cooker.

BACKGROUND ART

There has been a conventional heating cooker in which water dropletshaving flowed down from an opening of a heating chamber along a frontplate are received by a dew receiving container provided under a door(see JP 2009-236338 A (PTL 1), for instance).

In the heating cooker, a housing part in which a portion on a rear faceside of the dew receiving container is to be housed is provided on anunder front-face side of a main casing.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL1: JP 2009-236338 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The heating cooker, however, has a problem in that the water dropletshaving flowed down along a surface of the front plate may leak bytraveling to a top face side of the housing part through agency ofsurface tension or the like without dripping into the dew receivingcontainer.

An object of the invention is to provide a heating cooker in which waterdroplets having flowed down along a surface of a front plate canreliably be received into a dew receiving container.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the object, a heating cooker of the inventioncomprises:

a main casing,

a heating chamber that is provided in the main casing and that is forheating an object to be heated,

a door that is provided on a front face side of the main casing and thatopens and closes an opening of the heating chamber, and

a dew receiving container that is detachably attached onto an underfront face side of the main casing, wherein

the main casing includes:

a front plate that is provided around the opening of the heatingchamber,

a housing part that is provided on underside of the front plate so as toextend along a width of the front plate in a left-right direction andthat is recessed toward a rear face side relative to a lower-side frontface of the front plate so as to house a portion on the rear face sideof the dew receiving container, and

a drop inhibiting part that is provided on a bottom end of the frontplate and that inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along asurface of the front plate, from traveling to a side of the housingpart.

In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is a plate-like rib that is provided on theunderside of the front plate so as to extend along the width of thefront plate in the left-right direction.

In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the plate-like rib is formed by folding of a bottom end side of thefront plate toward the rear face side by 180°.

In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is a rib that is provided on the underside ofthe front plate so as to extend along the width of the front plate inthe left-right direction and that is convex in section with an apexfacing downward.

In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the rib convex in section is formed by folding of a bottom end side ofthe front plate toward the rear face side.

In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part of the frontplate and the ceiling part of the housing part, wherein the front faceof the underside part of the front plate makes an acute angle with theceiling surface of the housing part.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As is evident from above, the invention provides the heating cooker inwhich the drop inhibiting part that inhibits the water droplets, havingflowed down along the surface of the front plate, from traveling to theside of the housing part is provided at the bottom end of the frontplate provided around the opening of the heating chamber and in whichthe water droplets having flowed down along the surface of the frontplate can reliably be received into the dew receiving container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordance witha first embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the heating cooker in which the dooris opened;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations ofmajor parts of the heating cooker;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a section which is taken along a lineIV-IV in FIG. 1, as seen looking from a diagonally upper side;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seen looking into the section taken alongthe line IV-IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an important part in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding the housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with asecond embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding the housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with athird embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding a housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with a fourthembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic representation of an important partincluding a water supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with afifth embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinbelow, heating cookers of the invention will be described indetail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordancewith a first embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed andFIG. 2 shows a schematic front view of the heating cooker in which thedoor is opened.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heating cooker in accordance with thefirst embodiment includes a main casing 1 that is shaped like arectangular parallelepiped, a heating chamber 2 that is provided in themain casing 1 and that has an opening 2 a on a front side thereof, adoor 3 that opens and closes the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2,and a magnetron (not shown) that supplies microwaves into the heatingchamber 2 in which an object 15 to be heated is housed.

A discharge air duct 5 is provided in a rear part on a top face of themain casing 1. A drip receiving container 6 is detachably attached to alower part of a front face of the main casing 1. The drip receivingcontainer 6 is placed under the door 3 and is capable of receiving waterdroplets from a rear face (surface on a side facing the heating chamber2) of the door 3 and a front plate 60 of the main casing 1. A watersupply tank 26 that will be described later is also detachably attachedto the lower part of the front face of the main casing 1.

The door 3 is mounted on the front face side of the main casing 1 so asto be pivotable on a lower side. A pane of transparent external glass 7with heat resistance is provided on a front face (surface on a sideopposed to the heating chamber 2) of the door 3. The door 3 includes ahandle 8 that is placed above the pane of external glass 7 and anoperation panel 9 that is provided on right side of the pane of externalglass 7.

The operation panel 9 includes a color liquid crystal display part 10and a group of buttons 11. The group of buttons 11 include a cancel key12 that is to be pressed for discontinuing heating or the like and aheating start key 13 that is to be pressed for starting heating. Aninfrared receiving part 14 that receives an infrared ray from asmartphone or the like is provided on the operation panel 9.

The object 15 to be heated is housed in the heating chamber 2. Cookingtrays 91, 92 (shown in FIG. 3) made of metal can be put into and takenout of the heating chamber 2. Upper shelf supports 16A and 16B forsupporting the cooking tray 91 are provided on inner surfaces of a leftside part 2 b and a right side part 2 c of the heating chamber 2. Lowershelf supports 17A and 17B for supporting the cooking tray 92 areprovided on the inner surfaces of the right side part 2 c and the leftside part 2 b of the heating chamber 2 so as to be positioned below theupper shelf supports 16A and 16B.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations ofmajor parts of the heating cooker. In FIG. 3, the heating chamber 2 asseen looking from a left side is shown. In FIG. 3, the same componentsas those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided with the same referencecharacters as in the drawings.

The heating cooker includes a circulation duct 18, a circulation fan 19,an upper heater 20, a middle heater 21, a lower heater 22, a circulationdamper 23, a tube pump 25, a water supply tank 26, and a steamgenerating device 100. The upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, andthe lower heater 22 are each made of a sheathed heater, for instance.The circulation duct 18 is an example of a duct. The circulation damper23 is an example of a damper. The tube pump 25 is an example of a pump.The invention is not limited to that with the tube pump and has only tobe with a pump in which switching between water supply operation andwater drainage operation can be made in accordance with a drivingdirection.

A top part 2 e of the heating chamber 2 connects with a rear part 2 d ofthe heating chamber 2 through a sloped part 2 f sloped with respect to ahorizontal direction. A plurality of intake port 27 are provided on thesloped part 2 f so as to face the circulation fan 19 (see FIG. 2). Aplurality of upper blowoff ports 28 are provided on the top part 2 e ofthe heating chamber 2. A plurality of first rear blowoff ports 29, aplurality of second rear blowoff ports 30, and a plurality of third rearblowoff ports 31 are provided on the rear part 2 d of the heatingchamber 2 (see FIG. 2). The first rear blowoff ports 29 are an exampleof blowoff ports. Only one of the intake ports 27 is shown in FIG. 3.Only one of the first rear blowoff ports 29, only one of the second rearblowoff ports 30, and only one of the third rear blowoff ports 31 areshown in FIG. 3.

The circulation duct 18 communicates with inside of the heating chamber2 through the intake ports 27, the upper blowoff ports 28, and the firstthrough third rear blowoff ports 29 through 31. The circulation duct 18is provided so as to extend from the top to the rear of the heatingchamber 2 and extends so as to form a shape like an inverted letter L. Awidth of the circulation duct 18 in a left-right direction is setsmaller than a width of the heating chamber 2 in the left-rightdirection.

The circulation fan 19, which is a centrifugal fan, is driven by acirculation fan motor 56. When the circulation fan motor 56 drives thecirculation fan 19, air, saturated steam, and the like (hereinafterreferred to as “air and the like”) in the heating chamber 2 is suckedthrough the intake ports 27 into the circulation duct 56 and is made toflow radially outward from the circulation fan 19. Above the circulationfan 19, more specifically, the air and the like flow diagonally upwardfrom the circulation fan 19 and thereafter flow frontward from a rearside. Below the circulation fan 19, by contrast, the air and the likeflow diagonally downward from the circulation fan 19 and thereafter flowdownward from an upper side. The air and the like are an example of heatmedium.

The upper heater 20 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces thetop part 2 e of the heating chamber 2. The upper heater 20 heats the airand the like flowing toward the upper blowoff ports 28.

The middle heater 21, shaped annularly, surrounds the circulation fan19. The middle heater 21 heats the air and the like flowing from thecirculation fan 19 toward the upper heater 20 and heats the air and thelike flowing from the circulation fan 19 toward the lower heater 22.

The lower heater 22 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces therear part 2 d of the heating chamber 2. The lower heater 22 heats theair and the like flowing toward the second and third rear blowoff ports30 and 31.

The circulation damper 23 is pivotably provided in the circulation duct18 and between the middle heater 21 and the lower heater 22. Pivoting ofthe circulation damper 23 is caused by a circulation damper motor (notshown).

The steam generating device 100 includes a steam generating container101 that has an upper side opening and that is made of metal, a coverpart 102 that covers the upper side opening of the steam generatingcontainer 101 and that is made of heat-resistant resin (such as PPS(polyphenylenesulfide) resin), and a steam generating heater 103 that ismade of a sheathed heater cast in a bottom part 101a of the steamgenerating container 101. Water from the water supply tank 26 isaccumulated on the bottom part 101 a of the steam generating container101 and the steam generating heater 103 as an example of a heat sourceheats the water through the steam generating container 101. Saturatedsteam generated by heating by the steam generating heater 103 flowsthrough a steam tube 35 made of resin and through a steam pipe 36 madeof metal and is supplied through a plurality of steam supply ports 37into the heating chamber 2 (see FIG. 2). Only one of the steam supplyports 37 is shown in FIG. 3.

The saturated steam in the heating chamber 2 is delivered by thecirculation fan 19 to the upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, and thelower heater 22 and is heated by the upper heater 20, the middle heater21, and the lower heater 22. Thus the saturated steam becomes overheatedsteam having a temperature equal to or higher than 100° C.

A water level sensor 105 made of a pair of electrode bars 105 a and 105b is attached to the cover part 102. It is determined whether a waterlevel above the bottom part 101 a of the steam generating container 101has reached a predetermined water level or not, based on whether aconduction state between the electrode bars 105 a and 105 b has beenattained or not.

The tube pump 25 causes a roller (not shown) to squeeze a water supplyand drainage tube 40 that is made of silicone rubber or the like andthat can elastically be deformed and thereby causes the water in thewater supply tank 26 to flow to the steam generating device 100 orcauses the water in the steam generating device 100 to flow to the watersupply tank 26 in accordance with a driving direction of the roller. Thewater supply and drainage tube 40 is an example of a water supply path.

The water supply tank 26 includes a water supply tank body 41 and acommunication pipe 42. One end part of the communication pipe 42 isplaced in the water supply tank body 41 and the other end part of thecommunication pipe 42 is placed out of the water supply tank 26. Oncethe water supply tank 26 is housed in a tank cover 43, the other endpart of the communication pipe 42 is connected to the water supply anddrainage tube 40 through a tank joint part 44. That is, inside of thewater supply tank body 41 communicates with inside of the steamgenerating device 100 through the communication pipe 42 and the like.

A water supply device is composed of the tube pump 25, the water supplytank 26, the water supply and drainage tube 40, the tank cover 43, andthe tank joint part 44.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a section which is taken along a lineIV-IV in FIG. 1, as seen looking from a diagonally upper side, and inwhich the same components as in FIGS. 1 through 3 are provided with thesame reference characters as in the drawings. In FIG. 4, numeral 90denotes a bottom tray attached to a bottom part in the heating chamber2.

As shown in FIG. 4, a housing part 80 is provided on underside of thefront plate 60, provided around the opening 2 a of the heating chamber2, so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 60in a left-right direction. The housing part 80 is recessed toward a rearface side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60 soas to house a portion on the rear face side of the dew receivingcontainer 6 (see FIG. 5).

In a state in which the drip receiving container 6 is attached to theunderside of the main casing 1 (see FIG. 1) and in which the portion onthe rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in thehousing part 80, the water supply tank 26 is housed in the tank cover 43on the underside of the dew receiving container 6. The communicationpipe 42 of the water supply tank 26 is connected to the water supply anddrainage tube 40 (shown in FIG. 3) through the tank joint part 44.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view as seen looking into the section takenalong the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of animportant part in FIG. 5. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the same components as inFIG. 4 are provided with the same reference characters as in thedrawing.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plate-like rib 61 as a drop inhibiting part thatinhibits the water droplets, having flowed down along the surface of thefront plate 60, from traveling to a side of the housing part 80 isprovided at a bottom end of the front plate 60. As shown in FIG. 6, theplate-like rib 61 is formed by folding of the bottom end side of thefront plate 60 toward the rear face side by 180°.

In the heating cooker having above configurations, when the waterdroplets flow out from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 and flowdown along the surface of the front plate 60 of the main casing 1, theplate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part that is provided on theunderside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of thefront plate 60 in the left-right direction inhibits the water dropletsfrom traveling to the side of the housing part 80 through agency ofsurface tension or the like without dripping. The portion on the rearface side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in the housing part80 recessed toward the rear face side relative to the lower-side frontface of the front plate 60 and thus the water droplets having flowed outfrom the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the dewreceiving container 6 below through agency of the plate-like rib 61.Consequently, the water droplets having flowed down along the surface ofthe front plate 60 provided around the opening 2 a of the heatingchamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew receiving container 6.

Though the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is provided onthe underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along generally thewhole width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction in thefirst embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided along atleast a width in the left-right direction of an area into which thewater droplets flow and drop from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.

With use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-like rib 61 that isprovided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend alongthe width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction, the dropinhibiting part can easily be formed by folding of a plate material.

Besides, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is formed bythe folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rearface side by 180° and thus the drop inhibiting part can easily be formedby the folding of the front plate 60 without use of another member.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding the housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with asecond embodiment of the invention.

In the heating cooker in accordance with the second embodiment, as shownin FIG. 7, a rib 161 triangular in section with an apex facing downwardis provided on underside of a front plate 160 so as to extend alonggenerally a whole width of the front plate 160 in the left-rightdirection. The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of the dropinhibiting part. The rib 161 triangular in section inhibits waterdroplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate 160,from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The water dropletshaving flowed out from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 dripinto a recessed part 6 a of the dew receiving container 6 below throughagency of the rib 161 triangular in section.

The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of a rib convex insection.

In the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formedby use as the drop inhibiting part of the rib 161 triangular in sectionthat is provided on the underside of the front plate 160 so as to extendalong the width of the front plate 160 in the left-right direction andby adhesion of the rib 161 triangular in section, formed by resinmolding, to the underside of the front plate 160.

Though the rib 161 triangular in section is provided as the dropinhibiting part on the underside of the front plate 160 so as to extendalong generally the whole width of the front plate 160 in the left-rightdirection in the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may beprovided along at least a width in the left-right direction of an areainto which the water droplets flow and drop from the opening 2 a of theheating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like or may beprovided along only desired portions of the width in the left-rightdirection.

Though the rib 161 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibitingpart in the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is not limitedthereto and has only to be a rib convex in section of which an apexprotrudes downward relative to a top surface 80 a of the housing part inan area over the recessed part 6 a of the dew receiving container 6.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding the housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with athird embodiment of the invention.

In the heating cooker in accordance with the third embodiment, as shownin FIG. 8, a rib 261 triangular in section with an apex facing downwardis provided on underside of a front plate 260 so as to extend alonggenerally a whole width of the front plate 260 in the left-rightdirection. The rib 261 triangular in section is an example of the ribconvex in section. The rib 261 triangular in section inhibits waterdroplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate 260,from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The water dropletshaving flowed out from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 dripinto the recessed part 6 a of the dew receiving container 6 belowthrough agency of the rib 261 triangular in section.

In the third embodiment, in which the rib 261 triangular in section asthe drop inhibiting part is formed by folding of a bottom end side ofthe front plate 260 toward the rear face side, the folding can easily becarried out and the drop inhibiting part can more easily be formed.

Though the rib 261 triangular in section is provided as the dropinhibiting part on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extendalong generally the whole width of the front plate 260 in the left-rightdirection in the third embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be alongat least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which thewater droplets flow and drop from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.

Though the rib 261 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibitingpart in the third embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is not limitedthereto and has only to be a rib convex in section of which an apexprotrudes downward relative to the top surface 80 a of the housing part80 in the area over the recessed part 6 a of the dew receiving container6.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 9 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important partincluding a housing part 380 of a heating cooker in accordance with afourth embodiment of the invention.

In the heating cooker in accordance with the fourth embodiment, as shownin FIG. 9, the drop inhibiting part is formed of an underside part 360 aof a front plate 360 and a ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380, onunderside of the front plate 360 so as to extend along generally a wholewidth of the front plate 360 in the left-right direction. In the dropinhibiting part, an angle θ a lower-side front face of the front plate360 makes with a ceiling surface of the housing part 380 is made acute.

The drop inhibiting part (360 a, 381) inhibits water droplets, havingflowed down along a surface of the front plate 360, from traveling to aside of the housing part 380. The water droplets having flowed out fromthe opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the recessed part 6 aof the dew receiving container 6 below.

In the fourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of theunderside part 360 a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 ofthe housing part 380 and thus can easily be formed by folding by foldingwithout use of another member.

Though the drop inhibiting part (360 a, 381) is provided on theunderside of the front plate 360 so as to extend along generally thewhole width of the front plate 360 in the left-right direction in thefourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided along atleast a width in the left-right direction of an area into which thewater droplets flow and drop from the opening 2 a of the heating chamber2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 10 shows an enlarged schematic representation of an important partincluding a water supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with afifth embodiment of the invention. The heating cooker in accordance withthe fifth embodiment has the same configurations as the heating cookerin accordance with the first embodiment has, except for the water supplytank and a tank cover, and thus FIGS. 1 through 3 will be reusedtherefor.

The water supply tank 426 is detachably attached into the tank cover 443provided on underside of the front face of the main casing 1 (see FIG.1). The water supply tank 426 includes a water supply tank body 441 thatis shaped like a box with an opening on a top side, a lid 450 thatcovers the opening of the water supply tank body 441, and acommunication pipe 442. One end part of the communication pipe 442 isplaced in the water supply tank body 441 and the other end part of thecommunication pipe 442 is placed out of the water supply tank 426 and onthe rear face side thereof.

An opening/closing door 460 is pivotably mounted on the rear face sideon the lid 450 of the water supply tank 426. The opening/closing door460 pivots inward and is biased so as to be closed from inside by springmembers not shown.

A protruding part 470 with an apex protruding downward is provided on atop face side in the tank cover 443. The apex of the protruding part 470forms a spherical surface.

In the heating cooker having above configurations, water is suppliedinto the water supply tank body 441 and the opening of the water supplytank body 441 is covered with the lid 450. Then the opening/closing door460 is brought into a closed state and an end of the communication pipe442 is closed by a valve (not shown). As a result, the water supply tank426 is brought into a hermetically closed state. When the water supplytank 426 is inserted through an insertion opening 443a of the tank cover443, the apex of the protruding part 470 on the top face side in thetank cover 443 pushes down and opens the opening/closing door 460 of thewater supply tank 426 and the other end part of the communication pipe442 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40 through thetank joint part 44 (shown in FIG. 3), so that the valve at the end ofthe communication pipe 442 is opened.

A conventional heating cooker has a hole open to atmosphere somewhere ona top part of a water supply tank when the water supply tank is suppliedwith water and is inserted into a tank cover. This configuration isprovided in order that supply of the water into a connected water supplypath may be allowed by avoidance of hermetic closure of the water supplytank. Accordingly, there has been a problem in that the water may spillfrom the hole open to atmosphere when the water supply tank is suppliedwith the water and is carried to the heating cooker. By contrast, theheating cooker in accordance with the fifth embodiment prevents thewater from spilling because the water supply tank 426 is in thehermetically closed state when the water supply tank 426 supplied withthe water is carried.

Though the water supply tank 426 is hermetically closed by theopening/closing door 460 when being carried, in the heating cooker inaccordance with the fifth embodiment, a hole open to atmosphere that isbrought into a hermetically closed state by being pressed by fingersduring carriage, for instance, may be provided in place of theopening/closing door, without limitation thereto. In this configuration,it is preferable that the hole open to atmosphere should be provided ona part of the water supply tank that is on top of the lid and that is tobe grasped with a hand and should be closed with a thumb in handling.

With the heating cookers of the invention, healthy cooking can beperformed by use of overheated steam or saturated steam in microwaveovens and the like. In the heating cookers of the invention, forinstance, the overheated steam or saturated steam having a temperatureof 100° C. or higher is supplied onto surfaces of food, the overheatedsteam or saturated steam deposited onto the surfaces of the foodcondenses and gives the food a great quantity of latent heat ofcondensation, and therefore heat can efficiently be transmitted to thefood. The condensate water is deposited on the surfaces of the food, andsalt content, oil content and the like drip with the condensate water,so that salt content, oil content and the like in the food can bereduced. Furthermore, the heating chamber is filled with the overheatedsteam or saturated steam so as to be in a low-oxygen state and thuscooking in which oxidation of the food is suppressed can be performed.Herein, “low-oxygen state” refers to a state in which percentage byvolume of oxygen in the heating chamber is 10% or lower (0.5 to 3%, forinstance).

Though the specific embodiments of the invention have been described,the invention is not limited to the first through fourth embodiments andcan be embodied with modification in various ways within the scope ofthe invention.

The invention and the embodiments will be summarized as follows.

The heating cooker of the invention comprises:

the main casing 1,

the heating chamber 2 that is provided in the main casing 1 and that isfor heating an object to be heated,

the door 3 that is provided on the front face side of the main casing 1and that opens and closes the opening 2 a of the heating chamber 2, and

the dew receiving container 6 that is detachably attached onto the underfront-face side of the main casing 1, wherein

the main casing 1 includes:

the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 that is provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2,

the housing part 80, 380 that is provided on the underside of the frontplate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to extend along the width of the frontplate 60, 160, 260, 360 in the left-right direction and that is recessedtoward the rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of thefront plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to house the portion on the rearface side of the dew receiving container 6, and

the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360 a, 381 that is provided onthe bottom end of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 and that inhibitsthe water droplets, having flowed down along the surface of the frontplate 60, 160, 260, 360, from traveling to the side of the housing part80, 380.

In the above configuration, when the water droplets flow out from theopening 2 a of the heating chamber 2 and flow down along the surface ofthe front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 of the main casing 1, the dropinhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360 a, 381 that is provided on theunderside of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to extend along thewidth of the front plate in the left-right direction inhibits the waterdroplets from traveling to the side of the housing part 80, 380. Theportion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is housedin the housing part 80, 380 recessed toward the rear face side relativeto the lower-side front face of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 andthus the water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2 a of theheating chamber 2 drip into the dew receiving container 6 below throughagency of the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360 a, 381.Consequently, the water droplets having flowed down along the surface ofthe front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 provided around the opening 2 a of theheating chamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew receivingcontainer 6.

In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is the plate-like rib 61 that is provided onthe underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width ofthe front plate 60 in the left-right direction.

In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-likerib 61 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as toextend along the width of the front plate 60 in the left-rightdirection, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by the foldingor the like of the front plate 60, for instance.

In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the plate-like rib 61 is formed by the folding of the bottom end side ofthe front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 180°.

In the embodiment, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part isformed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60toward the rear face side by 180° and thus the drop inhibiting part caneasily be formed by the folding of the front plate 60 without use ofanother member.

In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is the rib 261 that is provided on theunderside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along the width of thefront plate 260 in the left-right direction and that is convex insection with the apex facing downward.

In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the rib 261that is provided on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extendalong the width of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction andthat is convex in section with the apex facing downward, the dropinhibiting part can easily be formed by folding of the front plate 260that forms a triangular section, the adhesion of the rib 261 convex insection formed by resin molding to the underside of the front plate 260,or the like, for instance.

In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the rib 261 convex in section is formed by the folding of the bottom endside of the front plate 260 toward the rear face side.

In the embodiment, in which the rib 261 convex in section as the dropinhibiting part is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of thefront plate 260 toward the rear face side, the folding can easily becarried out and the drop inhibiting part can more easily be formed.

In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment,

the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part 360 a of thefront plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380,wherein the front face of the underside part 360 a of the front plate360 makes the acute angle with the ceiling surface of the housing part380.

In the embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the undersidepart 360 a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of thehousing part 380 and thus can easily be formed by the folding or thelike without use of another member.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 main casing-   2 heating chamber-   2 a opening-   3 door-   4 magnetron-   5 discharge air duct-   6 dew receiving container-   7 external glass-   8 handle-   9 operation panel-   10 color liquid crystal display part-   11 group of buttons-   12 cancel key-   13 start key-   14 infrared receiving part-   15 object to be heated-   16A, 16B upper shelf support-   17A, 17B lower shelf support-   18 circulation duct-   19 circulation fan-   20 upper heater-   21 middle heater-   22 lower heater-   23 circulation damper-   26, 426 water supply tank-   27 intake port-   28 upper blowoff port-   29 first rear blowoff port-   30 second rear blowoff port-   31 third rear blowoff port-   35 steam tube-   36 steam pipe-   37 steam supply port-   40 water supply and drainage tube-   41, 441 water supply tank body-   42, 442 communication pipe-   43, 443 tank cover-   44 tank joint part-   48 forced discharge air duct-   50 supply air port-   56 circulation fan motor-   60, 160, 260, 360 front plate-   61 plate-like rib-   70 chamber inside temperature sensor-   80, 380 housing part-   91, 92 cooking tray-   100 steam generating device-   101 steam generating container-   101 a bottom part-   102 cover part-   103 steam generating heater-   105 water level sensor-   105 a, 105 b electrode bar-   161 rib triangular in section-   261 rib triangular in section-   360 a underside part-   381 ceiling part-   450 lid-   460 opening/closing door

1. A heating cooker comprising: a main casing (1), a heating chamber (2)that is provided in the main casing (1) and that is for heating anobject to be heated, a door (3) that is provided on a front face side ofthe main casing (1) and that opens and closes an opening (2 a) of theheating chamber (2), and a dew receiving container (6) that isdetachably attached onto an under front face side of the main casing(1), wherein the main casing (1) includes: a front plate (60, 160, 260,360) that is provided around the opening (2 a) of the heating chamber(2), a housing part (80, 380) that is provided on underside of the frontplate (60, 160, 260, 360) so as to extend along a width of the frontplate (60, 160, 260, 360) in a left-right direction and that is recessedtoward a rear face side relative to a lower-side front face of the frontplate (60, 160, 260, 360) so as to house a portion on the rear face sideof the dew receiving container (6), and a drop inhibiting part (61, 161,261, 360 a, 381) that is provided on a bottom end of the front plate(60, 160, 260, 360) and that inhibits water droplets, having flowed downalong a surface of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360), from travelingto a side of the housing part (80, 380).
 2. The heating cooker asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the drop inhibiting part is a plate-like rib(61) that is provided on the underside of the front plate (60) so as toextend along the width of the front plate (60) in the left-rightdirection.
 3. The heating cooker as claimed in claim 2, wherein theplate-like rib (61) is formed by folding of a bottom end side of thefront plate (60) toward the rear face side by 180°.
 4. The heatingcooker as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drop inhibiting part is a rib(261) that is provided on the underside of the front plate (260) so asto extend along the width of the front plate (260) in the left-rightdirection and that is convex in section with an apex facing downward. 5.The heating cooker as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rib (261) convexin section is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate(260) toward the rear face side.